Process for distilling emulsified oils



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-Patented June 26, 1928i.

UNITED STATES 'PATENT OFFICE.

GUSTAV EGLOFF AN D HARRY P. BENNER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOHS TOUNI- VEBSAL `OIL PRODUCTS COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATIONOl' SOUTH DAKOTA.

PROCESS FOR DISTILLING EMULSIFIED OILS.

Application lled August 20, 1920, Serial No. 404,903. Renewed April 24,1928.

. We have invented a simple process for the dehydration of emulsiliedoils vluwing the following novel characteristics: We have founditexceedingly difficult to dehy- 5 drate certain crude oils from theMexican, the California, and the Texas oil fields and bottom lSettlingoils from the mid-continent crude oils. We have found that certainemulsiliedoils are exceedingly difiicult to handle l in a commercialmanner due to their froth-v ing and puking characteristics when sub-/jected to eat in the normal manner of atmospheric distillation. Theusual methods now in use, arel not alone dilicult, but are l slow andtedious and relatively expensive to operate, due to the len th of timerequired to dehydrate the oils. gWith our apparatus we. have-found that'by surface distillation at atmospheric pressure, with a series of ysteam` coils, that We can readily and expeditiously dehydrate'badlyemulsified oils of high stability. We have found thatby layers of steamcoils independently operated and controlled, that we. can apply theamount of' heat units necessary to distill out the water from the aboveenumerated emulsified oils in such a manner to overcome any tendencytoward frothing or puking the still contents over into the rundowntanks. We have found that by distilling from the surface of theemulsified oil that we can control the rate of the distillation veryreadily and do not materially heat up the still contents sp as toconvert the water with its consequent puking the still content.

The objects of our invention are to dehydrate emulsilied oil by means`ofsurface dlstillation of said oil; we providea process which distills anemulsified oil in surface layers by means of controllable levels of heatapplication; we provide a process for surface distillation of emulsifiedoils until the concentration of water present is of that percentagewhich makes it desirable .to

complete the distillation with the addition present violently orexplosively into steam' Figure 2 is a Atransverse sectional view throughthe still,` and Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view. 1l representsthe 55 still, having steam coils, 2, 3 and 4, sepa; rately controlled byvalv, 5, -6. and 7. 8 is steam pipe connection to the boiler controlledby valve, 9, attached to header, 10. Steam outlet valve, 11, controls-independently heating coil, 2, from coils, 3 and 4. Valves 11, 12 and13, control heating coils, Y 2, 3 and 4, independently of one another.Exhaust steam from heating coils, 2, 3 and 4, when operatedindependently or to- 06 gether passes `out of the system by means Y ofheader, 14, controlled by valve, 15. Piping, 16, is a vapor lineconnected with condenser coil, 17, set in condenser coil .box, 18.Condenser coil, 17 'is connected with re- 70 ceiver or rundown tank, 19,by means of pipe, 20. The still, 1, is charged by means of pump (notshown) attached to pipe, 21, controlled by valve, 22. Residuum drawolfpipe, 23, having control valve, 24, and pipe connection, 25, isconnected with a rundown tank (not shown in the' drawi 26 represents a`furnace having brige wall, 2 7, and stack, 28, connected to furnace, 26.29 is a gas burner set in fur- 50 nace, 26. A typical mode of operationis to clarge the still by means of the pump through valve, 22, .untilthe liquid level of the emulsilied oil is just on a level with heatingcoil, a; 2: Heating coil, 2, is charged with steam continuously so as tosurface distill the emulsified o'il in still, 1'. As the distillationoontinues and the liquid level in the still becomes lower than theheating coil, l2, and on .o a level with coil, 3, steam is turned in `tosaid heating coil, 3, so that the surface distillation of the emulsifiedoil continues until the/ Y level of the emulsified oil in still, 1,reaches that of the heating coil, 4, at which point 95 steam is allowedto pass through coil 4. Dependent upon the type of emulsifed oils, itmay be desirable to cut out the heating coil, 2, when the liquid levelreaches below said coil. and likewise cutout coil, 3, when the liq- 10ouid level has reached that of coil, 4. We .have found that inA certainemulsified -oils we could materially assist the rapidity of distillationof the emulsitied oils when the concentration of water present hadreached a relatively low point, by the addition of direct heat on thebottom of still, 1. We have been unable to distill with any rapidity atall emulsified oils by direct heating of the bottom of the still whenthe raw stock was used. We `have found that some emulsified oils frothbadly event though a concentration of water present had reached as lowas 4 or 5 per cent. Hence, considerable care mustbe observed when theapplication of external heat to the still is made. However, this is apoint which is dependent upon the type of starting emulsied oil and itbecomes a matter of ex erience when to assist the distillation by tieapplication of external heat-ing.

We claim as our invention:

1. A process for distilling emulsified mineral oils, consisting inintroducing a bulk supply of oil with emulsified water to a'still, inapplying heat rdirectly to the surface of the oil in the still, and inprogressively lowering the point of application of the heat in the stillas the oil level therein decreases by the evaporation of the containedliquid, and in final y applyn external heat to the'still to vaporize theoi remaining therein.

2. A process of dis'tilling emulsifid inineral oils, consisting incharging a still with a bulk supply of oil containing water in emulsion,subjecting the surface only of .said emulsified "oil to the action of adistilling temperature, in progressively lowering the point ofapplication of the heat in said still 1n consonance with the.oil leveltherein as` the liquid is evaporated 'until abody of liquid oilsubstantially free of water is provided, and in thereaftersubjecting-said entire body of oil to a temperature sufficient todistill said oil 'body b the application of external heat.V to said stil.

GUSTAV EGLQFF. f HARRY. P. BENNER

